I have viewed the Sportys Recreational Pilot DVD course. I have not viewed any King DVDs. I have also looked through their catalogs. I noticed King costs more than Sportys. Does King include more information? Is one better than the other or do they just have different teaching styles. If their styles differ, in what way? Is Sportys more geared for beginner pilots? There is a big difference between Kings $579 Private Pilot course and Sportys $200 Private Pilot course. Am I just spending money or getting more for more pay?
I have some of both and I like King videos better. I have Sporty curriculum/training dvd’s and some of the King pilot series or whatever they’re called. I really like John & Martha’s enthusiasm for flying, they border on crazy. Sportys training dvd’s seem to be a compilation of a bunch of very old videos. They are extremely boring and cheesy.
I am more likely to order from King in the future. On my last Sporty order they left out some items and it was nearly impossible to get them to fix the problem. I also stopped in to their airport and store and was not impressed. The store is cool looking but nobody greeted me or offered to help me spend money there. I have been (was) a customer for over twenty years.
I can’t speak to Sportys but I enthusiastically recommend King. The production is top notch. I sense a lot of care and effort in keeping the information up to date, which must be a huge and expensive job and, in my mind, really defines the quality of this type of product. Pity that they won’t expand into Canada.
I’ve only used King, but both are good I’m sure. King gets a little corny (ok, a lot corny sometimes) but they teach well.
What do you think, Magnetoz?
No opinion really, but i do know that Sporty’s guarantees you’ll pass your checkride or they’ll give your money back. But I do agree that a lot of the courses are made up of outdated videos, but I’m not a big fan of the talking heads at King.
Oh… You can view samples of the Sporty’s videos on their website and they give you the first volume of the Private Pilot course for free.
Got it already.
while I like the King better than Sporty’s, they both contain the same material needed to pass the test. You can also get the same material by just reading the FAA publication or taking a ground school.
So would it be cheaper to just buy FAR and AIM and enjoy the reading along with training in ground school? I’m going to have to get FAR/AIM anyway.
I thought Sporty’s DVDs were kind of good. I have the amazing ability to enjoy lectures or speeches that everybody elso thinks are totally boring. However, Sporty seemed to cover topics lightly. They seemed more like a newb pilot course. The “What You Should Know” series seemed less than complete.
It seems here the consensus is for King stuff.
There is a combined FAR/AIM published each year by Aviation Supplies & Academics, Inc. - Newcastle, WA. You can probably get it at your FBO or Sportys et al have it. There is a good store at BFI next to/south of Galvin’s. FAR/AIM is good reading for you!
So would it be cheaper to just buy FAR and AIM and enjoy the reading along with training in ground school? I’m going to have to get FAR/AIM anyway.
I wouldn’t start by just reading the FAR/AIM as it would be deadly boring and a tough way to learn the key concepts. The Gleim books Private Pilot FAA Written Exam (Paperback) by Irvin N. Gleim or Private Pilot FAA Knowledge Test, 2007 Ed. are both good. There is also a book by the FAA: Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25, December 2003 (FAA Handbooks series), by ASA and the FAA: Private Pilot Test Prep 2006: Study and Prepare for the Recreational and Private Airplane, Helicopter, Gyroplane, Glider, Balloon, and Airship FAA Knowledge Exams and a pricey, but very good, one by Jeppesen: Private Pilot Manual (JS314500). I think you can buy them all from Amazon.
The answer to most questions on FA can be found in the FAR/AIM.
You can download the FAR’s and the AIM both for free, but there are several different companies that publish a hard copy. I agree with CAFlier, althought the FAR/AIM is a great reference, it is not neccessarily a training manual. The FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook is good read.
Sporty’s What You Should Know seems to have a lot of fluff, but the courses seem pretty complete with a lot of real world footage. King has good information but it seems they mostly talk at you. Guess it depends on your learning style.
I gather that as well. But Sporty’s has one kit for all three tests (written, oral and checkride) whereas King has a separate product for each - and each one costing nearly as much as the whole Sporty’s kit. Is the King stuff really THAT much better… worth TWICE as much?
I just put my Sporty’s Private kit up for auction on ebay. It’s in like-new condition (no marks on or in any of the books - actually I just barely thumbed through the books and just watched the DVDs). So far the bid is up to $151.00 (+10.00 shipping). “Ground School” cost me less than $50.00 this time around 
Also, from what I gather, you can only play the King stuff on a computer whereas you can play Sporty’s in a DVD player hooked-up to TV. I rather enjoyed getting educated while laying back in bed.
Anyway, I’m interested in trying the King course for my instrument rating. Should I go the extra two miles that way?
I have the king school private pilot, night flying, take of and landings, i have also the sportys air facts, i have the jepessen 3 dvd private pilot and 3 dvd instrument rating, here’s the verdict:
the most boring of them all is the king school, for europeans like me, this is to much, the jokes are not funny, they talk stupid and they are very annoying. Worst of all, i find the king schools boring and while they talk i always say to myself, just say what you wan’t to say, cut the crap. It’s like they wan’t to make movie stars out of these 2.
The sportys i found much better, less boring, more video about the actial subject etc…
The Jepessen is for me the best in the row, only showing subject matters and no faces of people reading the texts.
The best things i bought were the DVD’s from the Oxford series…
I bought the Sporty’s for the Pvt. Pilot ground school. It worked for me (I’m also a happy customer of various items out of the Sporty’s catalog).
When I went for my IFR, it was only natural to get the Sporty’s course again. But omigosh…it totally SUCKED. I was bored out of my mind before the first DVD completed.
I was told by someone that the King Schools’ program was very good. So I got it and let me tell you–that person was right! 10 days later I sat for my IFR written exam and nailed it in the mid-80’s (I didn’t really try very hard, otherwise it would have been in the 90’s).
So there’s my take. Sporty’s was adequate for Private, but awful for IFR. The King program was great for IFR. I wish I had done the King program for Private–I might have had an easier time.
The King stuff is corny, but it is a good education. The explain things clearly and warn you about “gotchas” for the test. I felt it was likely better than any traditional ground school would have been.
My two cents…
- Randy
Maybe it’s because the exams in the USA are kind of a joke compared to Europe. In Europe they asume you actually know and understand completely the material… in the USA you are supposed to know answers on known questions…
“… adequate for Private, but awful for IFR”
I sure hope you took advantage of their guarantee and got your money back.
You did get your money back, didn’t you??
Hal is that you? 
Good info. I’ve been reviewing my Sporty’s PP and I’m finding it more interesting this time around (I only woke up to snow on TV once). Also the FAA “Airplane Flying Handbook” is pretty good, considering the source.
Oh common, the companies know that almost nobody returns their package when they aren’t happy with it…
I do.